Just Another Day
by Aries Zodiac
Summary: A battle, a phone call, a bigger battle, a capture, a rescue... hopefully. Yup, just another day for the boys in green.Well, add in a demonic THING that's captured Mikey, a little girl who's more then she seems and a battle that threatens to end the world
1. Default Chapter

Just Another Day

Whoohoo! My first Ninja Turtles fic! (Please review)

Not mine. Hmph.

* * *

"Pizza's up, dudes!" shouted Michelangelo, excitedly as he spun the pizzas in a way which suggested someone wasn't going to get any dinner. But as usual, they ended up safely on the table. Well, 'safely'- it was a case of 'out of the frying pan, into the fire' as the pizzas were immediately set upon by four voracious teenagers.

"Hey, Mike- you go to a new place?" asked Raphael in between munches of what looked like custard pizza, which even mildly revolted his younger brother who would eat anything.

"Yeah- for the change." he swallowed his own slice of pepperoni and ice-cream "New place, near the corporation block- y'know, where we met April that first time.

"As long as it ain't Foot-run, I don't care." shrugged Raph. "These pizzas are good!"

Mikey paused.

"Foot-run? You know, that would explain a lot…" he mused. The others looked at him in alarm and he grinned.

"Nah- just kidding! Nice guys- the new ones- Italian, Georgio and Mario. They're brothers and have just moved here. Got a chance to practice my Italian!"

"Your Italian?" asked Raph sceptically. He knew Mikey way to well. Mikey rattled off a stream of something that certainly sounded Italian.

"Wow, that was pretty good, Mike." put in Leonardo, sounding surprised. The other turtle, purple- clad Donatello was sniggering into his own pizza.

"Yeah- tell 'em what it means, Mikey." Mikey looked not in the least embarrassed.

"Which way to St Peters Basilica?" he shrugged.

"So if we ever get lost in Rome- you'll be a great help." snarked Raph.

"Hey, better help then you'd be." he replied. Raph narrowed his eyes across the table at his youngest brother. "I wouldn't get lost in the first place."

Mikey decided not to dignify that with a response. On the other hand he also wasn't going to mention the time when Raph had gotten lost in the sewers and needed a full search party. He had survival instincts. Leo, on the other hand, clearly did not.

"Wasn't there that time in…"

"Yeah, but we don't talk about that!" Raph cut him off with a scowl.

"It is time for training. Please come to the dojo," said the Sensai, coming in to the room. He had a knack for getting into these things before they got out of control. The four turtles cleared up after themselves quickly before following Master Splinter into the training room. They meditated for a while, each clearing his mind of unnecessary clutter and focussing themselves on the task at hand. The best time, in Mikey's opinion to annoy Raph was right before meditation. Afterwards, he was usually mellow enough not to physically attack him. Well… usually.

Afterwards they started training, first on their own, then sparring with a partner.

"Donatello, Raphael. You are first," said Splinter calmly. The other two sat, cross-legged on the floor to watch. It would be an interesting match. Raph was a natural, and had the strength and focus to make him difficult to beat. On the other hand, what Don lacked in Raphs physical strength, he made up for in intelligent fighting.

They started off fairly slowly. Raph had been beaten by Don the last time and was determined not to give him the opening this time round. Don was naturally cautious. But this time it was Don who made the first move, with a sweep at ankle height, designed to get Raph moving. Raph avoided it easily and attacked with the training sais. Don dodged one but took a hit. It wasn't serious but he was cross with himself for letting even that one connect. The fight got faster as each turtle tried to score a hit on the other. It ended in a draw with both turtles breathing heavily.

"Enough." Splinter called time. "That was good, Donatello, but be careful about leaving yourself open as you did once or twice. Raphael- also good, but you must take advantage of any opening- you let a couple of opportunities pass." The two turtles nodded acceptance of both praise and rebuke and sat as Mikey and Leo got up for their sparring.

This match started off fast as Leo attacked first. Mikey bounced backwards and retaliated, aiming below the wooden katanas. Leo blocked easily but the nunchukus were no longer there as Michelangelo took advantage of an opening. Again, Leo was too fast and Mikey was again backed down by the second katana guarding. Now it was Leos turn to advance and Mikey had to use all his natural athleticism and ingenuity to avoid the sweeping attacks.

"This match is already over." muttered Raphael as he watched Leo steadily back his younger brother into a corner.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" replied Don, looking intently at the battle. "I have ta admit- he's good with the gymnastics."

"Yeah, but ya need to fight as well as defend." begrudged Raph.

On the dojo floor, Michelangelo was nearly up against the wall and Splinter looked about ready to call time when Mikey turned quicker then Leo could react, bounced off the wall and used it to flip right over Leo with a shout of "Cowabunga!" He spun in the air and tapped Leo lightly on the head with the nunchucks. If it had been a real battle, he would easily have knocked him out.

"Well, that was a surprise." managed Raph. Mikey was grinning happily. It was a good day when he managed to beat Leo in the dojo! Splinter stepped forward.

"Very good, both of you. Michelangelo- that was a very good move. Well fought- but you need to work on your defense. And it is good to see you pay attention in training. Leo- good attack, but you must learn to anticipate a surprise, even when it seems your opponent is defeated. But overall, I am pleased with all of you."

Leo and Mikey bowed to each other and to Master Splinter before leaving the floor, Mikey bouncing slightly. They switched partners and it started again. Mikey got flattened by a relatively easy move on Dons part which earned a stern look and an injunction to concentrate from the dojo master. Leo regained his confidence by beating Raphael after a prolonged battle. Raphs mood was not entirely improved by a draw with Mikey who after the rebuke was concentrating hard and fighting well.

Splinter called an end to the training and they meditated a bit longer before being dismissed. They trooped back to their various activities- Raph and Mikey to fighting over the remote (Raph won), Don to the lab where he was apparently constructing a full brass band to judge from the noises. Leo polished his katanas faithfully and wouldn't dream of letting them get to be anything below perfect. Mikey sulked for a few minutes but then brightened up as he remembered a comic he'd been saving and hadn't read yet. So the evening looked set to pass peacefully.

Or nearly. It was Dons shell-cell that beeped but engrossed as he was in getting this spring to react with that…piece of plastic, he didn't notice. So it was Leo who got the call.

"April?" She looked upset.

"We were covering the scene of a break-in- the new Italian pizzaria of all places! Near the old Foot Corporation complex- when we were attacked. Foot I think. A rookie reporter was grabbed. I…I don't know where they took her." she trailed off as she looked behind her suddenly, as if hearing something. Leo noticed with alarm the cut on her head above the left temple. It looked nasty. She turned back, eyes wide and scared. "There's someone coming. I don't know where I am…"

"What can you see around you, April?" asked Leo urgently. The cell was shaking and April's face moved in and out of focus as she ran. "I…warehouses… Hang on- water! I can hear water- I'm on the docks! There they are!" There was shouting from behind her and Leo couldn't see her any more as she switched talking to running a lot faster.

"We're coming, April!" he shouted, hoping she could hear him.

"What's going on?" asked Don, who'd finally registered the outside world.

"April- the docks. Foot, come on." Don leaned back inside the door to grab the bo which was never far from him. Leo was still holding one of his katana- he'd dropped the other when April called. Don shouted for the other two and within two minutes they were out in the sewers, heading towards the docks underground. Leo, with his good sense of direction, was out in front.

"Here." They stopped at a manhole cover, which Raphael lifted and peered out. Nothing. They stepped out into the darkening evening.

"Whereabouts Leo?" asked Don. Leo shrugged and shook his head.

"Warehouses near the water- that was five minutes ago. We'll start at the waters edge- Don and me. Raph, you go with Mikey- check from the other end and work towards the water." Mikey and Raph peeled off and headed to the inland side of the docks. Mikey kept to the rooftops with the birds-eye view and looking in through the skylights while Raph stayed on the ground in sight. They'd covered most of the area quickly and were close to Leo and Don when Mikey, from the higher vantage point, spotted a flash of yellow.

"There!" he hissed to Raph who started in the direction he pointed in as Mikey sped over the rooftops to see if it was April. It was. She seemed to have lost her pursuers for the moment but when Raph touched her arm she whirled around and tried to hit him with a piece of wood. It was only Raphs good reflexes that kept him from being clobbered. Mikey stifled a snigger at Raph nearly getting clocked by April as he slipped down for the roof.

"Hey April. Leo and Don are over there."

"Boy, am I relieved to see you guys." she sighed as she dropped the piece of wood. Sounds of distant fighting made the two turtles spin around.

"You might need that after all, April!" warned Michelangelo as they started moving fast but silently to the source of the fighting, keeping the non- com behind them.

Raph flicked his fingers towards the roof with a nod to Mikey and turned the palm to the other roof signifying that they would take to the opposite roofs, surround the fighting and get the jump from both sides.

"April- stay here." he whispered as the turtles got into position.

It was dark as Mikey reached the apex of the roof and could now see the fighting. Leo and Don were surrounded by Foot and fighting back to back in the center of a tightening circle. Raph jumped off the roof on the other side of the yard and Mikey followed suit with a yell both meant to surprise the Foot and divert their attention from his brothers. And of course partly for the hell of it. It worked. Leo and Don both notched up their scorecards in the few crucial seconds, widening the circle around themselves and gaining a quick breather. Raphael was carving a good path himself towards his brothers in the middle and grinning fiercely. The Foot were milling slightly- they'd been fighting two turtles who'd been holding their own- now there were two more- one of whom had just appeared out of nowhere with a howl and the other of whom was scaring the life out of the people nearby just with that damn grin. It was the teeth that did it.

A few of the newer recruits decided that they didn't need this at this early time of their lives and a life shark- fishing in Asia seemed like a much better option. They scarpered. Most of the older ones- the warriors stayed and fought tenaciously. Without the panic of the newbies –who would not become oldies- they regrouped and seemed to become more focussed. Raphael had made it to his brothers and they were now standing as a triangle and beating the hell out of anything that came near them. There were less then a minute ago.

"Where's Mikey?" asked Leo, looking at Raph who hit someone before glancing around. His eyes widened a bit as he discovered where the other Foot had congregated into a corner. An orange bandanna was just visible from some where near the center.

"Hell- there he is!" But they were surrounded again and started beating a path towards their youngest brother.

Mikey was beginning to regret that yell at the beginning. It had drawn the pests like moths to a flame and he'd been trapped. They were backing him into a corner, in which he wouldn't be able to maneuver. He fell back and they closed in on him as his foot touched the wall.

"COWABUNGA!" he shouted with glee as he preformed the move that had stumped Leo earlier, launching himself off the wall and over their heads, twisting in mid- air and landing behind the group. From which point it was easy enough to sort out most of them with feet, nunchucks and elbows where needed. He spun to find Raphael behind him who kicked a sneaky Foot, who hadn't been as down as Mikey had thought.

"Oh, thanks." he panted. He looked around. There were plenty of wounded and unconscious and probably dead Foot around but no Foot capable of fighting.

"Were there only that many?" he looked puzzled. "There seemed to be a lot more."

"They ran off while you were busy with the gymnastics." he replied as Leo and Don joined them.

"Nice move Mikey." congratulated Leo and the youngest turtle glowed. It had been a good move.

"But ya shouldn't have gotten into that situation in the first place." added Raph. "You were lucky."

"Yeah, but he got himself out of it as well." put in Don mildly as they moved off. Raph nodded grudgingly.

"Yeah- I guess ya did at that," he admitted.

"Where's April?" asked Raph as they reached the area where the red and orange turtles had left her.

"Here, thanks guys." she said, coming out of the shadows, still holding onto her plank of wood. Two Foot- soldiers were on the ground, one clutching his head and making little whimpering sounds. The other didn't look like he'd be causing any trouble for a while.

"Hey, nice one, April. Ya got some!" said Michelangelo happily.

"Yeah, some of them ran this way. I thought they were attacking me. I sorta…lost it." she glanced at the plank before chucking it down with a grimace.

"Hey- ya did good- these guys aren't easy to get." said Raph, wondering why she looked so upset. She smiled shakily.

"Yeah- it's just been a rough night." She rubbed a shaking hand across her forehead, and looked up, eyes widening as she remembered.

"Finn! The Foot- they took her!

_If anyone finds my mutant plot-bunny (which did a runner due to exam-stress) can you please redirect it back to Ireland? It nicked the rest of this story when it scarpered. _

_It might return with the lure of reviews…(hint hint)_

_;)Aries_


	2. 2: Capture!

**Chapter Two**

_**Capture!**_

_By the way, since I've never quite figured out what April in the original series actually does for a living ,I've kept her as a reporter. I know she's an ex-labbie for Stockman, but what after? The turtles are all their original selves 'cos frankly the old series kicked ass and the new one is a pale wishy-washy thing in comparison. It's okay, but they couldn't even be bothered to get the turtles colours right (in the original they all are different shades of green). But Casey and Irma are probably around. So it's a bit of a mishmash.

* * *

_

They searched the dock area briefly, knowing that of all places Finn wasn't likely to be there. But it had to be done anyway, just in case they'd missed something. Unsurprisingly, they hadn't and they regrouped after a mere few minutes.

"You okay?" Don asked Mikey who was rubbing his leg with a scowl.

"Yeah. One of the Foot got a whap on the nerve. It'll be grand- it's just seized up." Don knelt down to have a look at it. As the closest thing the team had to a medic he felt entirely justified to grumble at Mike for not mentioning it earlier. Mikey shrugged. Don sighed.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. Just don't strain it for a while"

While this exchange was going on, Leo and Raph were quizzing April about the attack.

"Where did you come from, April?" asked Leo. "You were attacked at the pizzaria?" She nodded and then chuckled ruefully, shaking her head. "Attacked in a pizzaria! Man, I'll never live this one down." She shook herself, telling unco-operative brain cells that they could collapse and gibber later. For now there were more important things to worry about. Like… Finn!

"Finn! Come on, guys! We need to get back there! Maybe they left…I don't know… some sort of clue…" her voice faded over her shoulder as she started moving determinedly back the way she had come. The turtles followed quickly.

"Do you know who these guys were? Regular Foot? Shreddergoons?"

"Uh…yeah. I guess so. We were just covering the opening of the new pizza-place - very slow news day, guys! Packing up and suddenly a bunch of Shreddergoons jumped us. We had to run for it. We split up- I thought they'd come after me- I really did.." Here her voice filled with fury and anguish. "…but the last I saw they were dragging her away. And I had to keep running to get help. Dammit!" She hit the wall with the back of her fist in fury, mostly talking to herself. Don put his hand on her arm to stop her punching any more walls as she glared at her scraped hand.

"Hey Ape, it wasn't your fault. You stayed there- you'da been captured and no-one would have raised the alarm. Don't kick yourself over this- we'll get Finn back."

"Yeah, well if she's workin' for Channel 6 she might wanna get used to this sorta thing happenin'. You guys seem to get all the weird stuff." groused Raphael from up ahead as they ran quietly through the night, with Mikey muttering at his unco-operative leg as he followed in the rear.

They halted a street away and conferred over what to do.

"They won't have hung around, but there's just a possibility that they've set some sort of trap up ahead." Leo started. "We're not going to just walk into it. We'll approach from the rooftops, different sides, get a visual on the ground. Anyone sees anything suspicious- keep the shellcells on an open-link. Okay?"

"Yeah, we gotcha, Fearless." said Raph, already looking bored with the speechifying.

"Hang on. April, will you stay here? We'll call ya if it's safe." said Leo, turning to the only civilian of the group. "And Mikey- you shouldn't be jumping around roofs with your leg- you were limping on the way here. You stay and make sure nothing happens to April." April frowned at the idea of needing a babysitter but inwardly felt rather glad. She said nothing- recognising that this would also keep Mikey and his leg out of trouble too. An injury was a liability- especially when it came to rooftops! Mikey frowned too seeing the effort for what it was. But he couldn't complain; the attack had been on April and she needed the extra protection.

Leo, Don and Raph melted into the night like the trained ninja warriors they were and April and Mikey were left behind, one looking morosely at the rooftops and the other glancing around nervously.

"D'ya really think they're gone?" asked April. "I mean, why did they come after me anyway? To get to you guys?"

"Maybe," answered Mikey, now paying rather better attention to his surroundings. The others would definitely never let him hear the end of it if they- or anyone else- managed to sneak up on them! "They've tried that particular trick before, dudette. Not that it's ever worked."

April smiled slightly. "Nothing that lot ever do seems to work. They're a bit of a useless shower."

From the distance came shouts and the noises of battle. Trap, then. Mikey felt his muscles tense as he fought down his immediate reaction to go help his brothers. But he couldn't. He had a duty and for a ninja honour and duty is everything and true honour is the fulfilling of ones duty. Splinter's dry voice echoed through his head and he shook it in irritation. Man, he hated that word sometimes. He tensed, glancing around- why was he so jumpy? There was something weird about this place…

_"Useless, huh? We'll see about that girlie." _He whipped around as a voice hissed through the air.

"April! Get down!" he yelled and she dropped without even looking around. It was her reactions that saved her life as a sharp pointed shuriken imbedded itself in the wall above her head where she lay.

Silently four ninja moved out of the shadows. Man, these guys were good! They had had to have been there all along- no-one had come since they'd arrived. Uh oh….obviously the turtles really were that predictable.

Mikey moved into a fighting stance, 'chucks at the ready. April looked around her desperately and lunged for a piece of wood. The Ninjas didn't move, although April got the feeling that they could have stopped her easily. Mikey wished he could keep April behind him in relative safety but, unfortunately, there was no relative safety as the Ninja stood foursquare around them. It was a standoff with April and the orange turtle standing back-to back, wooden weapons at the ready and the surrounding ninja in their black and grey outfits standing so quietly and menacingly around them. Mikey wanted to start things off but knew he couldn't leave April. Whichever one he went for, that would leave three to attack April.

"Ape?" he hissed quietly enough that only she could hear. "can you hold one off with that plank for a minute?"

"I can manage." she hissed back.

"Okay then. Good luck." During the short whispered exchange the two in the middle never took their eyes from their attackers while in the distance battle still seemed to be raging.

"GO!" he yelled, as he threw one pair of nunchucks at one attacker and the other at the one diagonal to the first, catching both around the necks. Both gagged as they tried to get the deadly twisting chains away from themselves. Weaponless, he threw himself at the third who grinned mockingly, sparing not a glance for his stricken allies as he waited for battle with drawn katana.

April waited for the last attacker to come to her. He made a sudden rush, whipping out something that flashed once in what small light there was and she automatically ducked and flung herself at the knees of the ninja as he attacked. He flew over her and landed heavily and one of his knees _crunched_. She swung around, screaming in fury at these people who attacked her and innocent colleagues and for an instant her eyes seemed to flash with rage. Her fury leant her extra strength as she whipped around, the plank an extension of her arm and it thudded into the side of his head as he struggled to rise. He fell and didn't move again. For a moment only she was lost to incoherent and unthinking anger as she brought her arm back for another blow. But before she could bring her arm back for the fatal attack, her eyes cleared and she realise the man was not going to hurt her again. He was badly injured. Not dead yet- but in urgent need of help. She almost dropped the wood that she was holding. It wasn't easy to admit just how much she had lost herself in those few insane seconds when there was nothing in the world but herself and her enemy and the driving, overwhelming urge to clean up the world with a plank of wood.

She glanced up. Mikey had dealt with his first assailant and was taking down one of the ones on whom he'd lost his weapons. Wait - shouldn't there be…? She started to turn as she heard a shout from her companion but…._whump_… A burst of white light then nothing.

_This guy was good. Mikey had to admit as he tried to get an opening. He didn't dare take his attention off the man as much as he wanted to make sure April was doing okay. He heard the thud of wood against skull and smiled grimly. Go on April! he silently cheered. In his second of distraction the man lunged with the deadly blade, Mikey twisted out of the way, grabbing the wrist and elbow of the ninja as he whistled past and threw him over his shoulder. With his own weight helping to send him spinning through the air the unfortunate ninja hit the opposite wall with an audible thwock and lay still. _

Mikay spun even before the man slumped to the ground to find the third man.

"Apr…!" he yelled as she started to turn and the man behind her swung his weapon, a katana, like that of his own brother. He flung the nunchuck, catching the man around his neck again, but not before the ninja had struck his target. Luckily, Mikey's intervention had thrown the warrior off balance enough that it was only the flat of the blade that connected with the woman's head. He saw her eyes roll up as she sank to the ground. He leaped over to her pausing only briefly to punch out the choking ninja.

"April! Are you okay? Wake up!" She moaned but didn't stir. He checked her head where the blade had connected and winced. He leaned down to pick her up before a sixth sense made him throw himself to the ground, shielding the other's prone body. A silvery blade whispered through the air over his head. The second shurikin joined it's mate in the wall.

"Not bad." came a voice from the shadows. _How many of these guys were there?_ "Some of our best ninja were in that group. Of course, they won't be joining us again." Mikey stood up again, weapons ready, trying to gauge the number of opponents. _Too many._ He shifted his stance, trying to keep as many within line of sight as possible while standing over April. _Why were they after her anyway?_

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to stall for time. He couldn't take this many alone, though if he had not been protecting the unconscious woman he might have been tempted to try.

"Her. At first. But you and your brothers are much better prizes. She was a trap and you, foolish turtles, walked right into it." One man walked forward, into the light. He wore a costume unlike that of the ordinary Foot. In fact, now he came to think of it, there were subtle differences in the uniforms of these people. A new gang? The man looked up from beneath the low-brimmed hat, perched above the dark grey cloak and Mikey nearly left the ground entirely. Those eyes…the pupils were tiny and- a funny shape… As he watched in growing horror the pupils started to expand. There were no irises, no colour variations. The man- no, whatever he was, he wasn't a man- the _creature _laughed, a throaty chuckle that was almost more terrifying for its normalness then any cackle or crazed laughter. The pupils had expanded to cover the whole of his eyes now. Pits. Empty. Eyes were said to be the key to the soul but the flat emptiness of these orbs made the…thing as soulless as any mythical demon. Demon? Where had he gotten that word? He backed away, still trying to keep April behind him.

"What are you?" he asked, his fear transforming to anger and bravado.

"I?…" the voice was different too. Mikey's eyes watered as the shape in front of him seemed to shimmer and he wondered for a second how he had ever thought this evil to be human.

"I am Nightmare…"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"April? Mikey! Uh…guys?"

It was Donatello who arrived first on the scene. He looked around in confusion, his eyes widening at the remains of battle. There were bodies strewn about the narrow alley entrance. April and Mikey were nowhere to be seen.

"Guys! Leo, Raph- get over here! Hurry!"

Leo and Raph had been lagging behind, having a fairly good-natured argument over which had accounted for more in the battle they had just won.

"Ah, come on, bro! Ya can't claim that one- I did all the dirty work- you just bopped him on the head. I'd already worn him down!"

Leo opened his mouth to respond but Raph would never know if he'd be awarded that one or not as Donnie's voice floated back from the alleyway where they'd left Mikey and April. He sounded scared and immediately they broke into a run, the scorecard forgotten.

"Woah…" whistled Raph as he arrived. "Man, can't that guy ever keep himself outta trouble?"

Donnie was searching through the…bodies. Some of them had obvious wounds- either inflicted by nunchucks or…his forehead wrinkled as he considered the others- a staff? He nodded in comprehension when he spotted the length of wood on the ground. April's weapon. But others- they appeared to have died from only relatively insignificant injuries. One for instance appeared to have only a minor wound to his left temple- a glancing blow. It should barely have stunned him. And yet… For the first time he looked at the face of the soldier he had turned over and jumped back with a gasp. The man's face was frozen into a mask of utter terror. He looked around himself at the other bodies and suddenly wondered how he hadn't noticed it before. They all looked as though they had seen some unimaginable horror.

"Guys?" he called the other's attentions and pointed it out. He focussed on his brothers' faces trying not to look around. It seemed that whichever way he looked one or more of those faces were staring at him with that same look of complete terror frozen forever on their faces.

Raph shuddered as he looked also. Where the shell was Mikey? And April? What had happened here?

"Over here- April!" Leo was kneeling beside the woman who was nearly at the back of the alley against the wall. The others ran over, hoping she could tell them what had happened and, more importantly, the whereabouts of their brother. She stirred slightly and her eyelids opened enough to show a thin line of green between them.

"Come on- we'll get her to the Lair. Raph! What are you doing?" Raph was walking up and down the alley, peering at each of the bodies with barely disguised revulsion on his face.

"I'm trying to see if any of these are still alive. Have info - know where Mikey is…"

"They're all dead, Raph. It looks like most of them had…massive heart-attacks, I'd say. Come on- lets get April back to the Lair…" Donnie led his brother away as Leo picked up April.

* * *

"What happened, April?" asked Leo, pacing worriedly as April sat with an ice-pack pressed to her forehead. 

"I…I'm not sure." she replied shakily. "After you left, we heard the fight- four of these guys surrounded us. I don't know- they must have been there all along or something- they didn't sneak up on us. You saw what the alley was like- blind and leading onto a well-lit street form one side and the dock where you went on the other. And they didn't come from the roofs or the ground either. One second they weren't there…and then…" She shook her head and then frowned as she remembered something. "They let me arm myself." she said with confusion. "They didn't say anything. Mikey took out the two to either side- temporarily anyway and attacked one and I got the other…" she winced as she remembered the anger bubbling up and the blind fury which had led her to hit that man so hard. "I got hit…and I don't remember much after that. Remember…a voice…" she trailed off and her face grew distant. She didn't seem to be seeing the turtles at all.

"April? Ape?" asked Don, worriedly. Master Splinter in the chair opposite held up his hand for silence, watching April's face closely. The ice-pack dropped unheeded and April began speaking in a voice entirely unlike her own.

"_I am your fears made flesh, ever thought you were too scared to voice. I have always been here- long before you and yours. I have seen empires rise and made them fall. I will be here when you are dust and your names less then whispers on the wind…"_

Her eyes were flat and empty, though still their normal brilliant green. Her voice seemed to be coming to them from far away. The temperature in the room had dropped by at least a few degrees and the room seemed to be darker. The three turtles backed away from where the young woman sat.

"Who are you? Where is our brother!" demanded Leo, shaking off some of the terrible spell. He wished he had not spoken as slowly the head of his friend turned to him and, though it was her face, they were not her eyes. There seemed to be another consciousness there. Something evil that mocked their fear and helplessness.

_"I have been called many things throughout the years. You may call me…Nightmare."_

"_Nande kuso? _Where is our brother!" shouted Raph, thoroughly unsettled and, yes, scared too. The face twisted into a mockery of a smile.

_"Your brother is mine. He will be no more."_

"What do you mean! What have you done with him?" cried Don, jumping to the fore. But it was too late… the other thing faded from April's eyes- that… _knowing _that was ancient and malevolent. April blinked sleepily, smiled around in a dazed manner and collapsed sideways. Don caught her, now afraid for her. But, no, she seemed to be only sleeping now. He draped a blanket over her and turned to the others. They were still frozen in attitudes of fear and horror.

"What was that?" whispered Leo, recovering first.

"Nightmare? What the shell kinda name is Nightmare? Who cares about what it is- let's go kick some butt and find Mikey!" said Raph urgently. He didn't want to think about what had just happened.

"No, my sons- Nightmare is more powerful then you know. You7 cannot cope with it alone yet."

"What happened there, Sensei. To April- will she be alright?"

"She needs to rest, Leonardo. Spirit-possession is exhausting for the victim. She will recover."

"Master Splinter?" appealed scientific Donnie, who couldn't cope with …spirit-possession - or what ever it was.

Splinter looked at his purple son sadly. Of all of them Donatello would have the most difficult time accepting that there were things out there in the world, both ancient and in any cases evil that could not be explained by modern science. Don always had the hardest time trusting his 'gut-instinct' if it didn't concur with scientific proof.

"My son, it is hard to understand. But if Nightmare has your brother then you must try. Nightmare is what it said through April- an evil from so long ago that no-one who ever lived would remember it's beginning. It is said that it came into the world on the day the Earth was born. It was much older then Earth though- even then it was ancient beyond all comprehension." Splinter paused to collect his thoughts.

"But Sensei- why would it want Mikey- want any of us? And why didn't it take April?" asked Leo.

"That is a very good question, Leo, and one which I cannot answer now. But I can say that this creature is very dangerous and cannot be defeated by strength alone. It's power waxes and wanes with the seasons and ages. You know of magic?"

"Magic doesn't exist!" blurted Don before blushing as he realised he had interrupted his Sensei.

"What do you think is magic Donatello?" asked Splinter. Donnie gaped for a second, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to come up with a reasonable answer.

"Uh…all that wand- waving and…fairies and witches and stuff I guess…" he trailed off.

"Then you are right. Magic does not exist. And yet we do. Some people call it religion, some Nature. Those things no-one can explain, like why we have personalities, why we all think differently- why we think at all. Why the seasons change."

"But…we know why the seasons change…" He went on to mutter about orbital tilt, rotations and other geological facts until Raph hit him to get him to stop.

"Raphael. This is hard for your brother- leave him be. Donatello- what you say is true, but why does this happen? Why should green ooze have transformed you not only in size and physical form, but also given you intelligence to rival any human? What is co-incidence? No, my son- magic, true magic exists. It is the air, the Earth. It is the core of every living thing. It is unexplainable and not all of it is good." Donatello nodded unhappily.

"Look Don- a very old alien creature has our brother. He also has technology we haven't discovered yet. Now quit arguing!" Don nodded a bit happier with this concise explanation from Raph. Splinter looked at his second-youngest son and rolled his eyes slightly. Raph shrugged and grinned sheepishly.

"As I was saying…Nightmare's power on this planet has been waning for some time. Superstition and ignorance are what it thrives on- his latest time of ascendancy was during the Dark Ages. He was the cause of them."

"So he was…what, defeated by science?" asked Leo.

Splinter nodded reluctantly. "In a way. But it is never truly defeated. And Science carries the seeds of it's own downfall, just as Nightmare does. In each Age of Reason science moves forward until it gets too self-confident. People have short memories and forget the lessons of the past. As the world grows smaller so do people get more greedy. Nightmare rises again, maybe from the ashes of war or famine caused by the misuse of science and the cycle begins again."

"Okay, makes sense I guess. But it doesn't sound like the sort of thing that'd… y'know have a real body and a tendency to physically kidnap people."

Splinter sighed.

"You are right, my son. There has not been a recorded case like this for a thousand years."

"And what happened?" asked Leo, leaning forward.

"The Dark Ages."

"Ah."

"Who was it?" asked Donnie, intrigued despite his earlier objections.

"A woman called Mione. She was captured and learned to control power to create a war that plunged the known world into darkness and chaos."

"What happened to her?"

"She couldn't cope with the knowledge of what she had done. She disappeared- suspected to have taken her own life, but nobody knows for sure."

"But what has this got to do with Nightmare now?" asked Raph impatiently. "We need to get out there and find out where that thing's taken Mike!"

"Patience! You need to know your enemy. And you cannot defeat it by force! Our main- our only- advantage is that never before have Science or Nightmare interfered directly- they are simply too powerful. Direct interference would destroy the world. No, they have to work through intermediaries. Like Mione. And now, possibly Michaelangelo."

"What about this Finn girl that Ape was talking about?"

Before Splinter got a chance to answer something stirred behind them. Thoroughly unsettled and on edge Raph spun, with one hand on a sai and the other poised to throw. April froze with her eye fixed to the tip of the blade where it juddered under her nose. Raph puled back, suddenly embarrassed.

"Uh…hi, April."

"Hi Raph. What happened back there?" Leo explained quickly and she paled a bit, obviously very unhappy at the idea that something could just take control of her mind and use her voice like that.

"Can you tell us what else happened back there, April? You told us about he the four ninja you and Mikey took out. What happened after that?" April shrugged. "I was out for most of the rest of it. I remember being on the ground. Uh…Mikey came over…and then…that voice…" She shuddered at the memory. "He asked what it was. It laughed and said it was called Nightmare. He asked what it wanted and it said that at first it had wanted me but that Mikey and you guys were a much better catch. Then…I don't know! No, no, I do but I…I can't describe it!" She stared at her hands, working to control her emotions.

"It is alright, Ms. O'Niell. Take your time." April closed her eyes an talked in a flat voice.

"Mikey said something, I don't know what. He wanted to fight it I guess- we were surrounded, there was no way we could defeat them all. But if he could take out their leader then maybe we would have a chance. But…it just laughed and…I don't know how much of this is real and what I imagined. He did something, blew some sort of…dust, I think, at Mikey. Whatever it was he fell backwards and, I couldn't see if he was okay. He didn't move though. Then he summoned some of the ninja to take him. They…" She frowned. "I must be imagining this bit…I could have sworn they just walked into the wall and…vanished. Then…" she gulped, trying to swallow her emotions as her fist clenched with the horror of what she'd seen.

"He turned back to the injured ninja that we'd taken out and…

_"I have no use for failures. You are not ninja." The tall figure blew some more dust from his hand. April briefly wondered where he'd gotten it . Then as it landed on the four fallen but alive ninja, she forgot such questions. Each of the four faces around her started to twist in fear as if they were all in their own private hells, none of them seeing their surroundings, but something that perhaps existed only in their imaginations. She stared at the man immediately across from her- the one that had hit her. His mouth opened in a silent scream, eyes staring and unseeing, before his head dropped to the ground with that same expression now frozen forever on his features. She couldn't lift her head to see the others but she had little doubt as to their fates._

_"Now, little being. As I used you before, I will let you live. I reward the useful." He lifted his hand and swung. He did not strike her but she felt herself lifted into the air as if she weighed nothing. Her breath was forced out as she hit something large and solid and remembered nothing after._

"So…that's it…" she finished.

"What did he mean, he used you before?" asked Leo frowning. She shrugged then paled. "Finn!" she breathed. "He wanted Finn. And…" her face turned even whiter. "Oh God…I led her right to him. With that stupid pizza opening."

"That wasn't your fault." said Leo forcibly. "Don't blame yourself- we'll get 'em back."

"Ms. O'Neill. When you started speaking in Nightmare's voice, what do remember?"

"Uh…not much. It was like I was dreaming- lethargic, I didn't really hear him. I got flashes of…pictures, images after a minute or two though." She frowned, shaking her head. "That's all remember." Splinter considered this.

"It is very possible that Nightmare has been out of the world of Reason for so long that it did not realise you were receiving information from it as well." He paused again for a second. "Ms. O'Neill- the information you carry may be imperative to finding Michaelangelo and perhaps Finn also. It is also very possible that you know it in your subconscious."

"So how to get it out?" she asked.

"Hypnotism."

* * *

_By the way, the Legend Of Nightmare is my on invention as are Mione and Finn. The Dark Ages were from around the 12th century onwards (I think) and were a time during which the Church had a lot of power. Life was hard and superstition and belief in witches and magic was the norm._

_Nande Kuso- approx What the hell?_

_Sorry for taking so long to update, got a bit distracted with my other Turtles fic- Out On Your Own (hinthint). I am continuing with this one though!_

_To my wonderful reviewers (and I don't care if this is illegal now, 'cos it's a dumb rule. If someone explains to me why it isn't allowed then yeah, maybe I'll stop. But flips a birdie otherwise! Ya amadain bomantaich.)_

_Ahem, anyway…_

_**Lioness-Goddess:** Thank-you for my welcome and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! (And yes, it's dudette!)_

_**Lunar-Ninja:** Man, you're threatening me here too, dudette! (goes away and sobs "Nooobody loves me... sniff>...") Plus I'm still recovering from my attack of dragons. :)_

_**Jessiy Landroz:** Yeah, my mutant plot bunny has finally decided to make a reappearence. Thank-you!_


	3. 3: Escape?

_**Chapter 3**_

_**It's Not Just Us Anymore**_

_**Disclaimer:** I keep forgetting to do this…_

_I don't own anything you recognize. I do own Mione, Finn, Mai, the…dammit…without giving anything away, lets just say I own what you don't recognize, ok?

* * *

_

It had been two anxious days for the three turtles, their rat master and human friend. Master Splinter regressed April through hypnotism and didn't like what he saw.

He helped April reach a deep state of meditation- almost a trance state and then followed her to the same level of consciousness. He let her get used to the presence of his mind on the same plane before trying to communicate with her. The first time he tried, the surprise knocked her out of the trance, despite knowing it would happen and the whole process had to be started again. On the third try she found the right balance to be able to communicate with Splinter.

_;Good, my child; _he said with a certain amount of relief when he felt the faltering presence of her mind. Emotions were a lot more difficult to hide here. _;Now, remember that night, two nights ago. You were covering the opening of a pizza parlour. What happened then?;_

_;It's getting dark." she replied. ;the place is open, we're finished there. Myself and a trainee cameraman, Mai Zhen are packing up. Mai is Chinese- here she goes by the name Finn._

_Everything is in the van, Finn goes to the back to check it and I here…noises. But not noises like people moving, even people trying to be quiet. Ninja moving- I know the sounds from you guys.; _Splinters ears went back in surprise that April had learned to identify the sound that even the best ninja had to make to move._ ;I think it might be the Turtles but when I lean out, it's men- Foot, maybe, out there. One of then grabs Finn and I leap out. I jump on him and he has to let go of her. But others block the door of the van. I tell her to run, we do!; _

Here she seemed to pull out of the memories and added in a more detached, analytical tone. ;_It was the same both times. If all of them had jumped on us, we'd have been captured easily, but both times he only sent in a few- like a test for them. Anyway, we split up- I thought they were after me as usual- to get to you guys- isn't that the usual plan? So I told Finn that we'd split up. But most of them went after her! And then I couldn't help her because the rest were chasing me! So I called the Turtles and…you know the rest.." _she finished. Splinter 'nodded'.

_;Very good, Ms. O'Neill. So what happened when yourself and Michelangelo were in that alleyway outside the docks?; _April told him more-or-less what she'd told them before, when not under the influence of the trance. When she reached the conversation in the Lair when Nightmare had taken over, she shuddered and her voice faltered.

_;It is okay, Ms O'Niell.; _he told her gently. ;Try to remember what you saw.; Her voice grew steadily further away as she drew out those memories.

_;Dark! It's dark…no, I can see a light. A woman…she's old. Dirty and injured. Dressed in brown…sacking? She's carrying a candle. I see her eyes…nothing there. Despair. Her face- it's me! I…I don't understand. She sees me but doesn't look surprised. She smiles, beckons me. I follow. She points around us. Wait- changes! Everything is chrome and aluminium and glass now. It's…sterile. The people are well-fed and well-dressed but…their faces are the same as those of the woman. Despair. Wait! Now I'm in the village again. Dirty, smelly. It's so real! I hear coughing. A man- he looks sixty or more but I know he's only thirty. No one looks up, everyone stares at the ground. Her again. She's different. She points again. Wait- this is different…a building…one of the condemned blocks out near the projects, I think. Could it…could it be his base? But…gone again. A sickroom, coughing, plague! A war, battlefield. Tax time in a village, bailiffs. Sickness again. Despair! I can smell the battle- the blood in the air and I see the fat lords in their castles as their peasant soldiers die! A child, wasted with fever, black boils… Oh…Oh God…make this STOP!;_

Image after image of suffering and death flashed through Splinter's mind and he fought to keep himself apart from it. To stay calm and centred. But he was pulled in by the sheer force of the memories and for a moment was trapped in April's hysterical mind. He fought for focus but had nothing to 'hold' on to- nothing solid to grasp to pull himself out…but..there! A rock in the whirlpool! A glowing bluey-green rock. He grasped the calm spot gratefully and came out of his trance. His eldest son was beside him, looking down worriedly. He nodded his thanks and turned to April, talking to her calmly and steadily until the wild look had left her eyes and she drew in a deep shuddering breath.

"I…I'm sorry." she whispered when she'd recovered. Splinter put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Do not worry April." he said kindly, using her first name for once. "Rest for a while. What you have shown me was of the utmost importance. April was almost falling asleep as he spoke and she needed no further urging. Exhausted by first the fight, then the mental…kidnap, the possession and finally having to relive it all for Splinter, she sank back into deep slumber almost immediately. Splinter waved his son outside to join the rest. His face was grave.

* * *

"What's goin' on?" demanded Raph almost straight away. He bowed his head in shame at having spoken so rudely to his Sensei but didn't take back the words. 

"What Miss O'Niell showed me was of great importance Raphael. All of you, you must here this. Leo, when I caught your mind, did you see any of what was passing through Miss O Neill's?" Leo nodded. "Flashes, glimpses. But not enough to make much sense." Splinter nodded. "What I believe she saw through Nightmare's mind was the future in absolutes. What will happen should either win permanently. What will happen if we don't rescue both Michelangelo and Finn, Nightmare's newest vessel. Whether Nightmare or Science win, the future for humanity is bleak." He sighed. "I'm sorry, my sons, but this battle is no longer just about ourselves, but, quite possibly, for the whole world as well."

There was a pause. The story sounded fantastical. But this was Splinter. Don was still sceptical, though he tried not to let it show. "I don't understand, Sensei. How is it suddenly so important now?"

"Because now Nightmare has got it's hands on one of Science's greatest triumphs. A sentient mutant. And what happened seventeen years ago to us all was a great scientific achievement. With Finn's latent power- like that of Mione- but also with new understanding and control of a subject of science, Nightmare could potentially see off Science forever, plunging this Earth back into a permanent Dark Age."

"And…how will it do that?" asked Leo quietly, already foreseeing-and dreading- the answer. Splinter looked at him sadly. "Complete possession. Currently Nightmare has no corporeal form. If it takes a body…Michelangelo simply won't exist anymore. His body will be controlled absolutely by Nightmare. His soul will be destroyed."

* * *

Mikey woke with a scream and sat up, eyes wide, trying to get his breath to return to normal and his heart to stop racing. Waking up suddenly was not uncommon for a ninja. Screaming was rather more so. He pushed the thoughts to one side for a few minutes as he considered his surroundings and the memories of last night flooded back to him. _April!_ What had happened to her? Was she here? Was she even…No, he was not going to think like that. It would do no good. 

It was dark. Very dark. His eyes had had time to adjust to it but it didn't help. Okay, so he was blind, for the moment anyway. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Fine, time to use other senses. No sound, either. His own heartbeat was the only noise and he welcomed the regular beat. Ni what? Smell was out too- wait! Slightly…musty? Rottenness, perhaps. Wood? And cement dust…Which suggested…a building site? Wait, rotten wood. Okay, somewhere old then. Decayed. Hmm. Narrowed it down to…oh, quite a lot of places above-ground. Fine, touch. He put out his hands to either side tentatively. Nope, nothing there and down…no. Wait! What was he sitting on then! Er…nothing. It gave him quite a shock to realise that he was floating in what was the closest to total sensory-deprivation he had ever encountered.

You are awake then. The voice echoed in his head and he clutched it with a cry. Man, that _hurt_!

"Who…who are you? What do you want?" he managed.

You know who I am. You are here because I wish it.

"Aggh! Stop it! Stop talking! Please!" he cried, as every inch of his body screamed at him. How? How was his voice doing this? But it ignored his plea and kept talking mercilessly.

My time has come. And with you as my vessel and the child as my physical magic in this world, my time will last forever. Welcome sensation while you can. You will not exist soon enough, when I claim your physical form.

But it may as well have spoken to a wall for all the response it would get from the unconscious curled-up form with hands pressed uselessly to bleeding ears.

* * *

This time Mikey woke up faster, again shaking and sweating from the horrific visions that had plagued him all the time he'd been out of consciousness. He _hurt_. He felt like he's gone twenty-three rounds with a blender. And lost. He put a hand up to his ear and winced as he felt the dry blood coating the sides of his head and neck. His eyes too…what sort of thing could do this, make him weep tears of blood with its voice alone? 

It was still dark, still felt like he was drifting in a tank of water, but this time he decided to go inwards rather then outwards. He concentrated on his breathing and tried to meditate.

It was surprisingly easy here. No outward stimuli, no Raph to either distract or be distracted by. Nothing. He could feel himself sinking into a trance deeper then he'd ever reached before-until…he was stopped! A barrier, no, rather a cage, between himself and the outside- where he might go if he were to try spirit-walking, an art that only Master Splinter and occasionally Leo, could do. Was that why he could neither see nor hear but could smell? Maybe taste was the only sense that could not be fooled. And, after all, he had a very highly developed sense of taste. Especially when it came to pizza! He pulled his thoughts back and concentrated on the barrier. He moved around it, not touching it but trying to find a way around it. No…it was sealed tight…but wait! What was this? A…not a crack, maybe not even a hairline one…but a weak spot even so. This was where the voice had come in in, from outside! He probed the weak spot carefully with his mind. He didn't want to be too obvious about it- he didn't want to alert whatever it was that had trapped him here. Okay… He sat back and considered his options so far. Just maybe he wasn't as trapped as he looked. Maybe he was only trapped in hi own mind. If so then if he could get through this…net, then he might be 'back' in the real world. Okay…He was careful not to think these thought to clearly in his own mind, trying to keep images of the Lair and his family at the top of his thoughts. If this thing was keeping him locked in his own mind and was able to communicate without speaking then it wasn't such a far fetched idea that maybe it could read his thoughts.

He sank back into the trance-like state again and 'found' the weak point again, scraping away at it gradually and carefully. He was relieved that he didn't seem to be attracting Nightmare's attention again! He didn't know how long he kept it up but he was eventually rewarded when a 'hole' appeared and light filtered through. He widened it until he could slide his mind through. He was free!

Well, free was perhaps not the word. He opened his eyes properly and this time he saw light. He was lying in a small room, maybe six foot by six foot and his eyes hurt. Actually, everything hurt. He sat up with a noise that could only be described as a whimper and stretched. Owowow! Okay. Now what? He was surprised to note that he wasn't bound. Obviously Nightmare had figured he was captured within his own mind and needed no outward help. He stood up and immediately fell over again. Ow again. Fine. This time he maneuvered himself over to a wall and pulled himself up that way. Okay, so far, so good. Right. Small window, over there. He moved over to the boarded up window and carefully started levering out the planks of wood, clumsily nailed on. Aggh! Severe amount of sunlight out there! Once his eyes had adjusted he peered out again, rather more cautiously. He recognised the area- one of the derelict buildings on the outskirts of the city. Good, he wasn't too far away from home then. Now for the bad news- he was twelve stories up.

Well, it was high, but hardly impossible. But before he did any escaping, he needed to find out if April was here. Or the other one- Finn. He looked around and frowned. There was no door.

* * *

There had been shocked silence after Splinter's words. Raph broke it, standing up and slapping a sai off his palm. 

"Well, what are we waitin' for then?" he growled. "Do we have any idea where this Nightmare guy took them?" Splinter nodded.

"It seems to be one of the condemned apartment blocks on the outskirts." He described the area that he'd seen and Raph nodded. "Yeah, I know that area. We can find them!" he said impatiently.

"Go then, my sons. But do not be in that area after nightfall. The darkness is Nightmare's strength." His sons bowed quickly and left at a run, Raph in the lead.

"I just hope there is something to bring back…" whispered the elderly rat.

* * *

Now what the Shell was the point of a room with no door? Mikey asked himself crossly. Not that it mattered, the room was so unsteady that the wall was as good as any door to go through. He moved back to the corner where he'd woken up- as good a place as any to start. 

It didn't take long to create a big enough hole to wriggle through- and this new room had a door! The door opened out onto a corridor. Empty, thank goodness. He crept along it anyway, listening at doors for sounds of life. He frowned as he paused outside the oh…four millionth and ninth door and heard something. Someone…crying? Sounded young. Certainly not April anyway, but perhaps another captive. He bit his lip as he considered. It could be a trap after all. A muffled sob decided him. Shell with it, even if it was a trap. He wasn't gonna leave a kid here.

"Hey! Can you hear me?" he whispered as loudly as he dared. The muffled crying broke off, replaced by a breathless silence.

"I'm a friend. Are you a prisoner?" he asked, feeling rather stupid at the question, but it'd be just his luck if the kid was …Nightmare's daughter or something and lived here. A scrambling sound.

"Who…who are you?" a high voice asked. "I'm trapped in here. I don't know why. Please…please get me out, Mister. I'm afraid he'll come back!"

Leaving a child in a place like this! Ignoring his misgivings, Mikey whispered back reassuringly. "It's okay, sweetie, I'm a friend. I'll get ya out of here. Move away from the door, would you?" Another scrambling noise, away, this time. Mikey looked up and down the corridor again. He looked appraisingly at the door. At the hinges in particular. He didn't dare just kick in the door, which, while effective, would be heard from here to Toronto. He hinges were old. In fact…he spoke to the girl again.

"Okay, I'll be back in a second, kid. And then I'll get you out."

"Please don't leave me here again!" she cried, sounding on the verge of tears again and Mikey winced. Oops.

"It'll just be for a few seconds. I need to get something to open this door with." There was a pause and the girl reluctantly whispered 'okay…'

Mikey moved as quickly as he could back to a bathroom he'd passed about ten doors ago and entered. There! A tap was lying in the corner, where he'd noticed it the first time. Relic of one of the smashed basins. He ran back and spent a few tense minutes levering the bottom hinge off the door, half expecting Mr. CreepyVoiceDude or one of his minions to appear behind him at any second. Luckily, none did and Mikey was able to breathe again as the rusted metal snapped suddenly, scraping his hand but not doing any more damage. He paused again, hoping the noise wouldn't attract anyone before looking up at the other hinge. No, it wasn't loose, but…he got a grip on the bottom of the door and pushed. The hinge didn't break, but it twisted slightly. Hah! The door was at a slight angle now. He kept pushing until the was a space of maybe a half a foot under the door. He glanced at the hinge again. He was afraid that if he pushed much further, the aging wood would snap and bring someone to investigate.

"I think I can get out through there." came the voice again and Mikey paused before she did.

"Okay, but I'm a friend okay? But I'm not human. Please don't scream- we don't want… him coming back again."

"I wont…but what are you?" she sounded curious, rather then scared.

"I'm a turtle." he replied. She laughed, a nervous sound.

"I…I think I used to have a turtle as a pet once. She never bit or anything. Turtles are okay." He grinned at this.

"Yeah, turtles are okay. Now come on out, kid. We're getting out of this crazy place before yer man makes a comeback." There was pause then someone was wriggling through the gap under the door. Mikey helped her to her feet. It was a little Chinese girl with a tearstained face and clothes about four times too big for her. She paused and looked up at Mikey.

"You don't look mean." she said uncertainly.

"I'm only mean to bad men who lock kids up in small rooms" he agreed and she smiled. She took his hand trustingly and he smiled back at her.

"Now where do you come from?" he asked her, wondering what Nightmare wanted with this little girl anyway. She frowned.

"I…I live outside Shanghai with my family…but I don't know how I got…here, Mister. I woke up in there…and that's all I remember about it."

"Mikey, not Mister, okay kid?" he told her absently, wondering where she came from and why she'd been taken.

"My name's Mai then, not kid." she replied defiantly and he laughed quietly.

"Okay, touché, Mai." he replied and then hushed her for a second.

"Shh…Stay here, okay Mai?" She nodded, letting go of his hand reluctantly. He moved silently to the next bend and frowned. Two people were standing there, guarding the stairs. Ninja, dressed the same way as those who'd attacked April and himself. Someone else was coming up the stairs.

"Report." he snapped and the other two bowed.

"No noises from the two prisoners." he replied crisply and Mikey smiled, half- relieved and half-mocking. No, no noise, beyond him pulling boards off a window, breaking a wall, levering metal off metal and twisting the hinges. And these guys called themselves ninja? But on the plus side, they'd specified two. So April had escaped. That was the only explanation he was going to accept. He frowned again. Either way, slow as these guys were, they'd probably notice if he and Mai just walked out passed them. The new guy marched off back down the steps and Bebop and Rocksteady, as he christened them, turned back to guarding.

He walked back to where he'd let Mai, who had slipped back into the room, just in case. Sensible kid.

"Okay, come on- I'm afraid there's no route out that way so we're gonna have to escape some other way."

"Dya have a plan?" she asked him, taking his hand again and he frowned as he thought.

"One. Listen to me, Mai. I can get us out of here, but you're gonna hafta trust me. It's gonna be a bit scary, but I think you can do it. You're a brave kid." She nodded solemnly. "I will." she told him confidently.

They reached the room where Mikey had been imprisoned. More specifically, the window. Mai clutched his hand a bit harder and Mikey glanced at her reassuringly.

"You can do this, Mai. I'll be with you the whole way."

"Just…just don't let me fall." she whispered.

"I won't. You ready?" She nodded, eyes tightly shut and he picked her up. He used one arm to steady her, as she gripped on to his shell like a limpet and he climbed out. Luckily, they were on the top floor and the guttering was strong. He tested it to make sure it would bear their combined weight and jumped. Mai's grip intensified if that was possible, but she didn't scream at least. He was up on the roof now.

"It's okay, Mai, that was the hardest bit. You did very well." Her eyes opened, although the grip didn't lessen."

"Now we're going to have to stay up here for a while. Just until dusk- I think we might be a bit noticeable bouncing around the rooftops in daylight."She smiled and he set her down. The rooftop was flat but there was no wall on the edges so he kept hold of her hand. She was sensible, but anyone could make a mistake. They sat down on the roof and Mai regained some of her composure. Her face was still tearstained but she was smiling now.

"So do you remember anything, Mai?" he asked her.

"I was at home, playing with my dog and my sister, Li and…and then I was in that room. And a man spoke to me." She shuddered. "He…he frightened me. He said I was powerful and I would use my power for him. I was frightened and then he left. I think I was there most of the day- maybe I slept, I don't know. And then you came." She looked at him shyly. "Thank-you."

"No problem, kid. Anyway, you helped get yourself out. You were very brave and sensible." he praised her and she brightened up. "I…miss Li and home though. You…you're American aren't you?" she asked.

He nodded. "You're in New York." Her face trembled and tears appeared at the corner of her eyes again. Poor kid. She couldn't be much more then about six and alone in a strange country. What did Nightmare want with her and how on earth were they going to get her home?

* * *

_Sorry this is taking so long -with all my fics! I just started uni and I seem to have a LOT less free time then I used to! But I'll keep trying to get chapters up!_

_It's a bit confusing at the moment- but things will clear up soon! Please keep reading- and reviewing!_

_AZ_


	4. 4: Attempted RecoveryAnd Discovery

**Chapter 4**

**Attempted Recovery…and Discovery**

_I disclaim, okay? Lots of disclaiming. Oodles of disclaimement._

_Thank-you

* * *

_

It took rather longer to reach the outskirts then Leo liked. They got most of the way through the sewer network but had to go above ground when flooded tunnels cut off their route.

"That's not good," said Leo worriedly as they turned to retrace their steps. "We're going to have people down here trying to fix this and then going through the tunnels to find other possible flood-areas."

"It'll be fine- we're far enough away," replied Raph impatiently. "You know the sewer workers- most of them think the tunnels are haunted or somethin' anyway- they won't be exploring." Leo accepted the point and they moved on in silence.

"So…what did you think of what Sensei said?" asked Don. It was clear from his tone that this had been bothering him. Leo shrugged. In truth, it had bothered him also, but he had far less trouble believing in an ancient malevolent entity then practical Donatello.

"He seems certain and how else do you explain what happened to April?" he asked. Don fell silent. No matter how he tried, he couldn't dismiss Aprils'…possession. It had unsettled him more then he liked to admit. Actually, if he were honest with himself, it had been terrifying to hear that voice, those harsh, evil tones emitting from his friend. And that…something else in her eyes. But an ancient evil spirit that could possess people and do…magic? Even the sort that his Sensei had described. Great battles? Nightmare and Science; anthropomorphic personifications of human concepts, his mind informed him crisply. Concepts, not, not _beings_! But he held his silence as he struggled to come to terms with these unscientific ideas and the rest of the journey passed without incident.

* * *

Mikey was getting impatient up on the roof and Mai, for all she was trying to behave and not annoy 'Mister' as she called him almost as much as she called him by name, was getting bored and hungry. He was wondering exactly what time it was and how long he dared leave it until he made a move. Logic and training demanded he wait until nightfall but some deeper instincts were urgently prodding him to get the shell out of here now! And certainly not to wait for dark! Dark was _his _domain.

"Okay, Mai. I know it's not dark yet but I think we should make a move. I don't think we should be here after dark after all," he reluctantly admitted. She nodded with relief and then glanced at the side of the roof with trepidation.

"How are going to get down?" she asked. He grinned.

"Ready for some roof hopping?" She swallowed but nodded gamely. Mikey held out a hand.

"It's okay, really Mai," he assured her. "I've hopped roofs at night many many times in this city, several times carrying people a lot heavier then you!" He pointed to a lower roof- about six stories to the twelve of their current perch. "That's where we're aiming for- I've got the route planned out. From there we can get down to the ground and into the sewers. Don't worry, they're not dirty or smelly," he added. They'd chatted a bit over the last hour or two before Mikey's screaming instincts made him too edgy to talk. Mai knew about his home and his brothers and April. Mikey'd found out that Mai was half-Chinese, her father was English, which explained her mastery of the language. Her dream was to come to New York when she was older with her sister. Her sister wanted to be a dancer while she wanted to be a 'television writer'. The words reminded Mikey again of April's unknown fate. He hoped she was in the Lair and not a captive somewhere else or worse.

Mai held onto his shell again and he used one arm to make sure she wouldn't slip- he was not going to lose her mid-leap! Then he made the first jump from the twelve-story building roof across an alleyway onto the next derelict apartment block. Mai gripped his shell until her knuckles whitened but didn't make a sound. After one or two leaps she seemed to be rather enjoying herself. She seemed almost disappointed when they reached their destination. From there Mikey took a cheat-route; down the fire-escape at the rear of the building. Wasn't the way he'd have chosen if he were alone, but he wanted to take as few chances as possible with the little girl in his care. Once on the ground he put Mai down and went to the manhole cover.

"Here we are! Sewer, sweet sewer," he grinned. Mai looked slightly askance at the dark hole so Mikey went in first and kept talking cheerfully as she climbed down the ladder. Once down in the sewer it wasn't so bad, it was gloomy, but not pitch-black but Mai kept tight hold of Mikey's hand. She didn't mind being down here with someone, but she wouldn't want to get lost on her own!

From here, it was a relatively easy walk although, unbeknownst to Mikey, he passed within a few tunnels of his brothers as they moved quickly and silently towards the condemned apartments to find him!

* * *

April was first to see him- the last person she'd expected to see stroll in the door- much less with a six-year old child! Her mouth dropped open.

"Mikey!" she managed, hand flying to her mouth before she launched herself at him. He hugged her back and grinned with relief.

"I thought…I knew you hadn't been captured so well, I hoped you were here. Were you injured?" he asked guiltily. She glared at him.

"Don't go all guilt-stricken on me. I've enough of that with Leo! No, I wasn't injured but you soon will be if you don't tell me where on earth you've been. And…where are the others?" Suddenly realising that the rescuers were keeping awfully quiet.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them…" he trailed off.

"They went to rescue you!"

"They went to the apartments?"

"Yes!"

"Shell-cell! Where is it! I lost mine last night," he asked, new fear filling his voice. Mai, beside him, caught the anxiety but not the full reason for it and tightened her grip. Mikey looked down at her, having forgotten for a moment that the little girl had been there.

"Mai, I need to leave for a minute. This is April- I told you about her. She's very nice and she'll look after you for a few minutes, okay?" Mai looked uncertain but reluctantly relinquished her death-grip on his fingers. April looked at the little girl and crouched down.

"Hello Mai," she smiled kindly. Mikey left the room at a run to find Splinter. He nearly steam-rolled him at the doorway.

"Michelangelo!" The elderly rat seemed momentarily speechless. "Your brothers succeeded then? Where are they?" Mikey wondered for an irritated second why no-one seemed to think he could get himself out of trouble.

"I got myself out but I never saw them. Sensei, they could be walking into a trap. I need your shell-cell. If Nightmare returns…he is too powerful!" Splinter was already getting the ingenious piece of technology out of his robe and flicking it open. It took him marginally longer then it would any of his sons and Mikey was nearly hopping up and down with impatience. He couldn't have said exactly why it was so important that they contact the others immediately and get them out of there but…

"Leonardo? Leonardo! Can you hear me?" The cell was having trouble though. Leo's picture flickered and his voice was interrupted by hissing and crackling.

"Not…line…poor…eption. Found….and the guards but…know anything…not here."

"My son, you must come back immediately. Michelangelo has returned."

"Can't …you…peat, please?"

"Return to the Lair, Leonardo, all of you. Your brother is here."

"…turn? …about Mikey? But he's not here anyway. …on our way…" The line broke up completely and Splinter sighed mildly at the fuzzing screen.

"I am glad you are safe, my son," he told his youngest. "We were worried about you- Nightmare is a dangerous foe." His eyes focussed on the dried blood tracks on the side of Mikey's face where he'd not managed to rub it off yet.

"My son, are you injured?" he asked sharply. Mikey shook his head.

"When I woke up…he spoke to me in my head. It…it hurt," he finished. "But Sensei, when I got out, there was another prisoner…" He was to get no further for the sharp gasp came form the living room where previously only the murmur of speech had come. Both father and son hurried to investigate. April was staring at the little girl, who was staring back, wide-eyed and cautious.

"Mai Zhen Song…" Her eyes took in the too big clothes before focussing in sharply on the child's features. She looked up in frank disbelief at Mikey and Splinter where they stood in the door.

"Guys… you won't believe this…but this is Finn!"

"Channel 6 is employing six-year olds?" asked Mikey stupidly. She glared at him.

"I don't understand it either… but you should- you've been a child at least twice! Remember the Shredder- you and Leo? I know Mai, I recognise her, I've seen pictures of her when she was small and I've met her niece- she looks exactly like her! Look at her clothes!" Mikey accepted the rebuke with a shrug, looking at Mai who seemed scared. He concentrated on her clothes, wondering how on earth he'd missed it before. There, half-hidden in a fold of the adult-sized clothes was the channel Six tag, with 'Finn Song' in small printed letters beneath.

"My name is Mai!" the subject of the scrutiny insisted, backing away from April and looking at Mikey.

"It's okay, sweetie," soothed April, crouching down to talk to the child who backed away further, moving towards the big green turtle who had helped her. He was the only one she trusted. Her eyes widened further as she took in the figure standing beside her protector. Mikey winced as he realised he'd never warned the little girl about the human-sized rat. She gripped his hand tightly and stood as close to him as possible, close to tears and thoroughly unnerved. Mikey looked at April helplessly before crouching down himself to look at Mai.

"Mai, this is Master Splinter, my father and teacher. He won't hurt you. I would never allow any harm to come to you, do you understand me? No-one here will harm you, any more then I would. Finn…you… were kidnapped by Nightmare…and well, I found you there. April…Mai, I know this is hard for you." He blinked as an idea came to him.

"Mai…" he said carefully. "What date is it?" She looked confused at the question.

"Twenty-fourth of February," she replied.

"What year?" asked April, understanding Mikey's questioning.

"Nineteen- seventy-four," she answered with no hesitation. Mikey looked back up at April.

"Mai…" April bit her lip, unsure as to whether to continue.

"Mai, it's nineteen eighty-six. You've lost twelve years of your life."

The girl looked at him, trying to see if he was telling her the truth. But the serious expression and the tone of 'Mister's voice told her that he was. When she saw this she seemed to take in the fact with that peculiar acceptance of young children before they learn what's 'impossible'. Then her eyes filled with tears.

"So I can't get back to my family by going to Shang'hai then?" she asked, jumping to this inescapable fact quickly. Mikey paused, then shook his head, looking to Master Splinter for help. Master Splinter had raised four children from babies now and while Mikey looked rather alarmed at the tears of the previously stoic child, Splinter knew what to do.

"Mai, you are welcome to stay here until we can restore you to your proper age," he said kindly and she looked desperately at Mikey. He nodded at her and she broke down into tears of exhaustion and relief and clung to him. When she'd recovered, she was half-asleep, worn out. Mikey lifted her up and place her on the couch to sleep while April found some blankets. Once they'd settled the child they moved into the kitchen to talk it over. They'd barely sat down when the three would-be rescuers burst back in. Raph was first to spot Mikey in the hall and his jaw dropped.

"What the…how the shell did you get here!" he demanded. Mikey, fighting a sudden (but unwise) urge to laugh, nevertheless hushed Raph, mindful of the exhausted little girl asleep on the couch.

"Don't hush me! Here we went, charging off because you'd been kidnapped and you're…! You'd better have a good explanation for worrying Master Splinter if you weren't kidnapped because otherwise _I'm_ gonna be the one you'll hafta watch out for!"

"Cool it, Raph!" replied Mikey calmly. "I _was _kidnapped and I escaped. And quit shouting, you'll wake up the little dudette."

With this extraordinary pronouncement he retreated into the living room to make sure the 'little dudette' hadn't been disturbed by the shouting before coming back out into the hall/tunnel again.

"Thanks for the rescue by the way guys. It's the thought that counts." he added wickedly, leaving Raph spluttering and Don's mouth twitching at his temperamental brother's expression.

"Alright, you two," said Leo wearily, breaking up the spat before Raph murdered the little brother he'd been worried about ten minutes before.

"So you got yourself out, Mike, fair enough. Now stop needling Raph and tell us who the 'little dudette' is and why she's asleep on the couch. And who is Nightmare, why did he want you? And did you find any information on Finn?"

Mikey opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Think you'd better just join the family conference inside. Ape's here. Come on, I'll explain when we get in." While thinking, there's no way they're gonna believe this…

"What happened to you!" demanded sharp-eyed Raph spotting the neglected blood-trails on the sides of Mikey's face. Don pushed past him, the family medic but Mikey irritably pulled back. "It's not serious- something Nightmare…look, I'll explain when we're inside. I'm not hurt!" He ducked into the bathroom to scrub off the offending marks before anyone else commented on them, leaving his family to settle in confused silence in the kitchen, wondering just what the shell was going on.

* * *

_Lucy! I'm baaak! Okay, so that's not quite the quote but anywhoo._

_See, no cliffie this time. So how long before Nightmare strikes again? And why is Finn now a six-year old? And how's Mikey going to cope if he's the only one she'll trust?_


End file.
